Thursday, October 26, 2017

The EPL on NBCSN

The animosity of the Premier League is comparable to nothing in sports. In the English Pyramid of soccer, 96 teams fight for positioning trying to beat their previous years result. Some succeed but some fail. Being relegated is painful.

In the whole pyramid, there is only six teams that really have a chance unfortunately. Leicester defined history and won during a year that the powerhouse teams were down. There is usually six more teams that find a way to stay in the PL every year. That leads to eight teams in the PL playing with house money every year. Lately, teams like Aston Villa, Sunderland and Fulham have been stuck in the second tier that have provided chances for small clubs to stay up longer than expected.

We are at the time of the year where the 3pm BST kickoffs are almost evening games. The race to boxing day is closer and closer each week as history is not on your side if your in the relegation zone at Christmas.

Crystal Palace has captivated the neutral fan the last few years and are starting to be desperate for points. A win against West Ham on Saturday looking for a win. Beating Chelsea was good but they need more.

Palace is in survival mode now which is a complete 360 from playing in a FA Cup Final about two years ago. They likely will go down within the next five years but that's the best part about the PL. Everything is chaotic at the bottom of the table. Which makes for compelling soccer.

The Palace and Arsenal games look like the best two games in the middle window. Let me know which game you are most looking forward too.